Railway-gate



(No Model.)

T. H. FENNELL.

RAILWAY GATE. No. 364,166

Patented May 31,;188'7.

IIIIIIIIII Il PETERS. Phnmlnnosnpher. wa-hingmn. D. c.

double gate, said posts being slotted, as shown any part thereof, all as fully described herein- NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TIMOTHY H. EENNELL, oEArULIA, Assrenos or ONE-HALE rro ADoLPH H.

` soHwAnz, oE sYRAcusE, New Yoan.

.RA|LwAY-GATE.

` SPECIFICATION rs1-ming part of Letters Patent No. 364.166, dates May s1, 1887.

Application filed August 11, 1886.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, TIMOTHY H. FENNELL, of Apulia, in the county of Onondaga, in the State ot' New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railway-Gates, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear,A and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in railway cross gates,whereby there lis produced a simple, durable, and economical gate which may be operated by means of a windlass to which is connected a continuously-rove cable ruiming from the drum of said windlass over a system of sheaves ou the four posts and connected to the barriers by means of travelers, which are. adjustably connected to said cable, so that the raising or lowering of the barriers may be always under control of the operator by means of the windlass, and thus prevent anyy sudden rise or fall, as frequently happens where weights are used to accomplish theraising and lowering of said barriers.

It consists, furthermore, in making the barrier detachable, so that if the barrier is caught by a wagon or other obstruction the parts of said barrier will pull apart without breaking after, and pointed out in the claims. In specifying my invention reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which--` Figure 1 is a perspective -view showing the general construction and arrangement of the parts. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectionof the posts, showing the location of the hoistingdrum and the pulleys near the feet ofthe posts. Fig. 3 is a top plan of the posts, showing the location and arrangement of the upper pulleys secured on top of the posts. Fig. 4 is an edge and a sectional view of the grooved posts in which the travelers ride. Fig. 5 shows enlarged detached side and plan views, respectively, of the traveler; and Fig. 6 shows an enlarged detail illustrating the ymethod and means for connecting the detachable barrier. A A A2 A3 are the posts of my improved at Fig. 4, the inner portion, D, of the slots being larger than the outer portion, D', for the purpose hereinafter pointed out. On the said posts I secure a system of sheaves, of which @Z serial' Nomerie. (No model.)

a are the upper sheaves of the iirst post; Z, the lower sheave secured near the foot thereof. W'is t-he windlass or hoisting-drum, secured lto the post A in any suitable manner. 'The 55 arrangement of the sheaves on the other posts will be readily understood by referring to Figs. 2 and 3 ofthe drawings.

The hoisting-drum IV has a hole, c, through it, and the standing part ofthe cable c, which 6o may be of any suitable material, is passed through the hole c'or otherwise secured to the windlass, and is passed over the sheave u at the top of the post A; thence down and around sheave Z, secured near the foot of A; thence up and'over sheave u' ou post A; thence across and over sheave u2 on A', thence down over Z near the foot of A', thence up'over a3 of A; thence over sheave u* at top of post A2; thence i down and around Zzin A2; thence up and over 7o as in A2; thence across and over sheave u in top of post A, thence down and around sheave Z3 near the foot ot' A3; thence up and over sheave ul'in top ot' A3; thence across and over sheave ua in post A down to the hoisting-drum, where it is made fast lto the standing end at the starting-point or in the drum. A

It will be observed that the reeviug of the cable from the windlass toand over the -v sheaves in the several posts is continuous, and 8o vthat as the drum is rotated by turning the handle II the cables move in the direction of the arrows'in Fig. 1.

To utilize the movement of the cables for the purposes ofa railway-gate, I provide crosspieces or barriers B B, made preferably of wire rope or cable, secured to the running cable c, as shown in Fig. 1, and attach to the crosspieces the ordinary danger-signal, as represented in Fig. 1. The barriers B B are se- '9o cured to the shank of a traveler, T, at f. The said traveler T runs in the grooves D D', Fig. 4. The traveler T is provided with afriotionroller, r, which runs in the larger groove, D, and the shank projecting through the smaller groove', D. Through the frame of the said traveler T a hole, C, is provided, into which fits a clamp-piece, d, and a set-screw, T', as shown in Fig. 5, clamps d against the cable c, which is rove through the said traveler, as roc best shown in said Fig. 5.

The barriers B B are made detachable, in

order to prevent the gate from being torn by vehicles or other obstructions catching against the same when the danger-signal is down, and to this end I provide spring-snaps S S and a ring, R, making the barrier B in two pieces, securing one end thereof to the shank ot' the traveler at f, and the ends provided with snaps snapping into the ring R.

When caught by a vehicle or other obstruction a strong pull on the barrier B will pull the snap S out of the ring R without breaking or damaging the gate.

The advantage ot' employing the adjustable traveler T in connection with the crosspieceor barrier B accrues from the fact that the said barrier B can be adjusted up or down in case the cable c contracts or slackens by the influence of the weather.

It will be, observed that iny'gate is operated by power applied to the windlass, no weights being necessary, since the raising and lowering of the danger signal is effected entirely by turning the windlass; hence the descent of the barrier can be regulated perfectly without any sudden fall, as in case of the weighted devices now in use in railway-gates.

It will be observed that when the adjustable traveler is employed in reeving the cable the running part c, Figs. 1 and 5, is passed through the traveler, as shown at Fig. 5.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a railwaygate, the combination of four posts arranged opposite each other on opposite sides of the crossing, sheaves arranged, respectively, at the top and near the feet of the posts, a hoisting-drum secured to one `of the posts, and a single cable secured to the hoistingdrum and rove continuously over and through the sheaves on theposts backto the drum, and a crosspiece or barrier secured to the hoisting-cable, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a railway-gate, the combination of four posts arranged on opposite sides of the crossing, said posts being provided with grooves D D and having sheaves for ,the hoisting-cable, the vhoisti ngcable c, traveler T, and the detachable safety-barrier B, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The detachable safety-barrier B, made in two parts, said parts being provided with springsnaps S, taking in ring R, and their opposite ends being secured to the hoisting-cable of the railway-gate, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name, in the presence of two attesting witnesses, at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, this 7th day of August, 1886.'

TIMOTHY H. FENNELL. [L. s]

Witnesses:

FREDERICK H. Ginns, E. C. CANNON. 

